Budgeting practice in Singapore - an exploratory study using a survey / Tan Boon Seng and Low Kin Yew

This study is conducted to better understand budgeting practice in Singapore which may be critical for increasing competitiveness and productivity for firms, and increasing value-add contribution for accountants. We obtained 356 valid responses from an online survey administered to members of a professional accounting organization. We found that most firms prepare budget and many (about 30%) incorporate significant strategy assumptions in budgets. The time spend on budgeting (10%-20%) is lower than what was reported in US studies, and more time is spent in preparing than using the budget. Budgeting problems (e.g. ratcheting and sandbagging behaviour) are well recognized, but firms preparing budgets with business plans generally deem pros for budgeting exceeding cons. Firms with annual revenue below $1m prepare budget primarily for forecasting cash flows; larger firms focus more on guiding and coordinating business activities, with increasing importance on variance analysis as firm size increases. For firms that prepare budgets with business plans, employee compensation based on budget performance is not as prevalent as expected. About 70% of the firms set budget targets to monitor strategy execution, about 50% set budget target for employee performance evaluation, and about 43% compensate by budget performance. The implications of these findings are discussed

Embrace Opportunities and Face Challenges: Using ChatGPT in Undergraduate Students' Collaborative Interdisciplinary Learning

ChatGPT, launched in November 2022, has gained widespread attention from students and educators globally, with an online report by Hu (2023) stating it as the fastest-growing consumer application in history. While discussions on the use of ChatGPT in higher education are abundant, empirical studies on its impact on collaborative interdisciplinary learning are rare. To investigate its potential, we conducted a quasi-experimental study with 130 undergraduate students (STEM and non-STEM) learning digital literacy with or without ChatGPT over two weeks. Weekly surveys were conducted on collaborative interdisciplinary problem-solving, physical and cognitive engagement, and individual reflections on ChatGPT use. Analysis of survey responses showed significant main effects of topics on collaborative interdisciplinary problem-solving and physical and cognitive engagement, a marginal interaction effect between disciplinary backgrounds and ChatGPT conditions for cognitive engagement, and a significant interaction effect for physical engagement. Sentiment analysis of student reflections suggested no significant difference between STEM and non-STEM students' opinions towards ChatGPT. Qualitative analysis of reflections generated eight positive themes, including efficiency, addressing knowledge gaps, and generating human-like responses, and eight negative themes, including generic responses, lack of innovation, and counterproductive to self-discipline and thinking. Our findings suggest that ChatGPT use needs to be optimized by considering the topics being taught and the disciplinary backgrounds of students rather than applying it uniformly. These findings have implications for both pedagogical research and practices.Comment: 33 pages, 2 figures, 5 table

Coping With Identified Budgetary Time Constraints: Auditors' Industry Specialization and Risk Assessments

141 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2001.The results of the study suggest that industry specialization affects auditors' risk assessments. Specifically, industry-matched auditors make better discerning risk assessments than do industry-mismatched auditors. Industry-matched auditors also use more appropriate coping strategies and revise the audit plan and budget more appropriately than do industry-mismatched auditors. Auditors' industry specialization separately and jointly with auditors' risk assessments influence the types and extent of coping strategy that auditors used to mitigate identified budgetary constraints. Industry-matched auditors' coping strategies and budgetary constraint mitigation are generally more sensitive to their risk assessments than are industry-mismatched auditors' coping strategies and budgetary constraint mitigation. The quality, types and extent of coping strategies employed by auditors in mitigating identified budgetary constraints are likely to affect the time stress experienced and behaviors exhibited by auditors later on in an audit.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

Do contrasting statements improve users’ understanding of different assurance levels conveyed in assurance reports?

We investigate in an experiment the effects of including statements contrasting the amount of assurance evidence collected and the relative level of assurance provided (‘contrasting statements’) on users' assurance assessment. We manipulated between subjects the type of assurance reports (limited versus reasonable assurance) and the presence of contrasting statements in the assurance report (with versus without). We also measured the participants' assurance knowledge (less versus more informed). We find that, under the current reporting regime which requires the inclusion of contrasting statements only in limited assurance reports, only more informed users can differentiate the extent of assurance conveyed in limited versus reasonable assurance reports. Extending the requirement of contrasting statements to reasonable assurance reports enables both less and more informed users to make stronger discerning assurance assessments between limited and reasonable assurance reports. We also find that users cannot distinguish between limited and reasonable assurance reports without contrasting statements. Overall results suggest that contrasting statements improve users' understanding of the different assurance levels conveyed in limited and reasonable assurance reports

Bitcoin – Its Economics for Financial Reporting

Despite its increasing popularity, no official guidance on the financial reporting of Bitcoin transactions has been provided by standard setters, although tax accounting guidance began to appear in 2014. Designed as a decentralised currency, Bitcoin is not intended to become a reporting currency and will instead complement fiat money. We argue that in the case of Bitcoin the accounting principle of faithful representation requires interpretation of the economic substance for financial reporting that varies with reporting entity: trading firms recognise Bitcoin like a foreign currency and measure the revenue, or expense, at the equivalent amount of the reporting currency and digital currency exchanges recognise Bitcoin as goods in line with tax accounting treatment. An Economica paper by Radford (1945), which describes the use of cigarettes as commodity money in a prisoner of war camp alludes to this economic basis. This paper applies accounting principles to a practical issue and contributes to the process by which standard setters may issue an interpretation.Accepted versio

Skills, knowledge, and attitudes important for present-day auditors

Recent accounting scandals have challenged and transformed the present-day role of auditors, making it timely and important to re-examine the skills, knowledge, and attitudes (SKAs) required of auditors in today's business environment. While prior studies have examined SKAs of accountants and internal auditors, and personal attributes of auditors, there is little research on auditors' SKAs. We propose and examine 20 SKAs important to present-day auditors. We survey experienced auditors in Singapore about the importance of these SKAs. Our participants rate professional integrity, assessing audit evidence, and having a questioning mind (indicative of professionalism competency) as the three most important SKAs. The participants also assess entry-level auditors' (ELAs) performance for each SKA. The difference between their importance and performance ratings is largest for business competency, particularly for knowledge of client's business. Our findings have implications for various accounting constituencies in terms of developing auditors' competencies

Professional career aspiration and professionalism among university students: A challenge of professional development in the 21st century

Universities today play two important roles in the systematic development of future professionals: They influence both the students’ entry into professional careers and the development of professionalism. Yet, the psychology of professional career entry and the development of professionalism among university students are not well-understood. This paper reports an empirical study of the nomological networks professional career motivation and (PCM) and professional attitudes, in relation to several professional outcomes of particular interest during the university education period. Specifically, we ask: can attitudinal professionalism be measured among university students? How is the motivation to pursue professional work related to having professional attitudes among university students? Using data collected from 873 undergraduates pursuing degrees leading toward accounting, teaching, banking and finance professions, we first develop a scale to measure professional attitudes among students. Next, we establish that while PCM better predicts professional career intention among students, professional attitudes are more associated with the students' professional identification and willingness to support transformation of the profession. We conclude that the motivation to be a professional does not necessarily related to having certain professional attitudes among university students and call for more empirical studies to understand the development of professionalism during the university period, particularly regarding to the attitudinal aspect. Research and practical implications of the findings are discussed.Accepted versio